Today's Technology for Tomorrow's Firm.
Issue link: https://cpapracticeadvisor.epubxp.com/i/825759
MAY 2017 ■ www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com 3 GAIL PERRY, CPA Editor-in-Chief gail.perry@cpapracticeadvisor.com @gperrycpa FROM THE EDITOR Published by SouthComm Business Media, Inc. PO Box 803 | 1233 Janesville Ave. | Fort Atkinson, WI 53538 | 920-563-6388 | 800-547-7377 VOLUME 27, NUMBER 4 Publisher: Barry Strobel Editor-in-Chief: Gail Perry, CPA Managing Editor: Isaac M. O'Bannon Assistant Editor: Taija Sparkman National Sales Manager: Lou Meszoros Columnists: Ken Berry, JD Doug Sleeter Jim Boomer, CPA.CITP Kristy Short Randy Johnston Rene Lacerte Roman H. Kepczyk, CPA.CITP Paul McDonald Amy Vetter, CPA.CITP, CGMA Reviewers: Mary Girsch-Bock John Higgins, CPA Art Director: Rhonda Cousin Site Manager: Lester Craft Production Manager: Barb Evenson Audience Development Manager: Terri Petitt Today's Technology for Tomorrow's Firm CPA Today's Technology for Tomorrow's Firm NSA Practice Advisor (USPS 017-576), (ISSN 2160-8725 print; ISSN 2160-8733 online) is published six times per year (February, April, June/July, August, October and December) by SouthComm Business Media, LLC, incorporating two editions known as CPA Practice Advisor and NSA Practice Advisor. Periodicals postage paid at Fort Atkinson, WI 53538 and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Practice Advisor, PO Box 3257, Northbrook, IL 60065-3257. Canada Post PM40612608. Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Practice Advisor, PO Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2. Subscriptions: Individual subscriptions are available without charge in the U.S. to qualified subscribers. Publisher reserves the right to reject non-qualified subscriptions. Subscription prices: The basic annual rate is $3, based on qualifying associations of 10,000 or more public accountants that may also subscribe for all their public accountant members (certain restrictive covenants apply) for a basic subscription rate of $9 per member for a three-year subscription. One year subscription for all others: USA - $48; CAN $70 GST; INT'L $99 GST. All subscriptions payable in U.S. funds, drawn on U.S. bank. Canadian GST#842773848. Back issue $10 prepaid, if available. Printed in the USA. Copyright 2017 SouthComm Business Media, LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recordings or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission from the publisher. 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Editorial Advisory Board: Jim Bourke, CPA.CITP, CGMA, CFF Jim Boomer, CPA.CITP, CGMA, MBA Bob Cedergren, CPA.CITP, CGMA, CISA Randy Johnston, MCS Greg LaFollette, CPA.CITP, CGMA Donny Shimamoto, CPA.CITP, CGMA Doug Sleeter Sandra Wiley, PHR, SPHR SOUTHCOMM, INC. CEO: Chris Ferrell CFO: Bob Mahoney COO: Blair Johnson VP, Production Operations: Curt Pordes VP, Technology: Eric Kammerzelt Executive Vice President: Gloria Cosby Director of Digital Business Dev.: Lester Craft Subscription Customer Service 877-382-9187; 847-559-7598 Circ.CPA@omeda.com PO Box 3257, Northbrook IL 60065-3257 Article reprints: Brett Petillo Wright's Media 877-652-5295, ext. 118 bpetillo@wrightsmedia.com List Rentals: Elizabeth Jackson email: ejackson@meritdirect.com phone: 847-492-1350 ext. 18 fax: 847-492-0085 Spring Cleaning and a Fresh Start Do you ever wish you could wipe the slate clean and start your business persona all over again? If you are in an accounting or book- keeping firm, would you do things differently if you were starting over today? If you could erase the legacy of your client relationships and the work you have done to date, would you take a different path, knowing what you know today? Allowing yourself to have that dream is the first step in the direc- tion of improving who you are and what you do. Contrary to what you might believe, you are not locked into a routine or a business style that is unchangeable. We all move so fast, from days to weeks to months; the years fly by, another busy season is in the books, we catch our breath and move forward, checking items off our to-do list, planning the weeks ahead on our calendar. If someone asks you about your long-range goals, you might pause to think wistfully about a time in the future when you think you will escape the rat race, and then you jump back to the reality of your timetable, your schedule, your day-to-day. I challenge you to truly envision where you would like to see yourself five to ten years from today – visu- alize what that future looks like. Really describe yourself, where you are, what you are doing, what a typical day looks like. Whether you expect to still be full throttle in the workforce, to be retired, or to be somewhere in between, put that description of you, five to ten years from now, down on paper, in as much detail as possible. Next, make a list of what you need to achieve in the ensuing five to ten years in order to realize that future you. Lay out the details, create the road map to your future on paper, fill in the steps that are necessary in order to achieve what you want. Don't let yourself dream without actually positioning your- self to make those dreams come true. Step One is the roadmap. For me, that includes inventorying the past so I no longer have to search and wonder where things are. Clear- ing that obstacle is actually helping me see the future more clearly. What is your Step One, and what comes after that? Start scheduling your own personal journey on your calendar and make those steps a reality. No one is standing in your way except you yourself. ■ — Gail Perry, Editor-in-Chief IT'S SPRING AND that gets me thinking about renewal, growth, and change. I've been engaged (in what spare time I can find) in a spring cleaning project that includes inventory- ing my books and also the boxes that are stored in our attic (see Apps We Love in this month's issue). Sifting through my past as I itemize and categorize, I can't help but feel like I'm more past-oriented than future-oriented, and that's annoying.